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Biliary Atresia

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Treatment for Biliary Atresia

Surgery

If biliary atresia appears to be the cause of the jaundice in the newborn, the next step is surgery. At the time of surgery the * bile ducts can be examined and the diagnosis confirmed. For this procedure, the infant is sedated. While the infant is asleep, the surgeon makes an incision in the abdomen to directly examine the liver and bile ducts. If the surgeon confirms that biliary atresia is the problem, a Kasai procedure will usually be performed on the spot.

The Kasai Procedure

Kasai procedure (hepato-portoenterostomy) - If biliary atresia is the diagnosis, the surgeon generally goes ahead and performs an operation called the "Kasai procedure," named after the Japanese surgeon who developed this operation. In the Kasai procedure, the bile ducts are removed and a loop of intestine is brought up to replace the bile ducts and drain the liver. As a result, bile flows from the small bile ducts straight into the intestine, bypassing the need for the larger bile ducts completely.

The Kasai procedure can restore bile flow and correct many of the problems of biliary atresia. This operation is usually not a cure for the condition, although it can have an excellent outcome. Without this surgery, a child with biliary atresia is unlikely to live beyond the age of 2. The operation works best if done before the infant is 90 days old and results are usually better in younger children.

The improved results of the surgery make the early diagnosis of biliary atresia very important, preferably before the infant is several months old and has suffered permanent liver damage. Some infants with biliary atresia who undergo a successful Kasai operation are restored to good health and can lead a normal life without jaundice or major liver problems.

Unfortunately, the Kasai procedure is not always successful. If bile flow is not restored, the child will likely develop worsening liver disease and * cirrhosis and require liver transplantation within the first 1 to 2 years of life. In addition, the Kasai operation, even when initially successful, may not totally restore normal liver development and function. A child with biliary atresia may slowly develop cirrhosis and related complications and require a liver transplant later in childhood.

While the Kasai procedure has been a great advance in the management of biliary atresia, improvements in the operation and clinical management of children who undergo it are needed to improve the outcomes of children with this disease.

Liver Transplant

If the Kasai procedure is not successful, the infant usually will need a liver transplant within the first 1 to 2 years of life. Children with the fetal form of biliary atresia are more likely to need liver transplants, and usually sooner, than infants with the typical perinatal form. The pattern of the bile ducts affected and the extent of damage can also influence how soon a child will need a liver transplant.

Liver transplantation is a highly successful treatment for biliary atresia and the survival rate after surgery has increased dramatically in recent years. Children with biliary atresia are now living into adulthood, some even having children of their own. Because biliary atresia is not an inherited disease, the children of survivors of biliary atresia do not have an increased risk of having it themselves.

Improvements in transplant surgery have also led to a greater availability of livers for transplantation in children with biliary atresia. In the past, only livers from small children could be used for a child with biliary atresia because the size of the liver had to match. Recently, advanced methods have been developed to use part of an adult's liver, called "reduced size" or "split liver" transplants, for transplant in a child with biliary atresia.

In addition, surgery has been developed that allows taking part of a living adult donor's liver to use for transplantation. Thus, parents or relatives of children with biliary atresia can donate a part of their liver for transplantation. Because healthy liver tissue grows quickly, if a child receives part of a liver from a living donor, both the donor and the child can grow complete livers over time.

Use of reduced size livers from deceased donors and left lobe livers, which are the smaller part of the liver, from living donors have greatly increased the availability of transplantation for children with liver disease. At present, almost all children with biliary atresia requiring a liver transplant will be able to receive "the gift of life," in the form of a liver from a deceased or living donor.

Definitions For This Page - In Alphabetical Order

* Cirrhosis
Pronounced - suh-ROH-sis
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long term disease. More about Cirrhosis

* Bile
Pronounced - BY-ul
Bile is the fluid made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile helps break down fats and gets rid of wastes in the body.

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References:
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)
July 2006
digestive.niddk.nih.gov

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